James Kirby

James Kirby

James Kirby is an English pianist and classical musician who also works as a singer-songwriter. He begins writing songs in 2007 and first develops as an acoustic-based artist, drawing on folk and singer-songwriter traditions as well as the work of Clive Gregson, Kevin Lamb, Colin Hay, Eric Clapton, Nick Drake and John Martyn.

Early development

Kirby starts out writing in England and later travels around Toronto and Canada in 2008, where he studies different musical styles through friends, street performers and other musicians, including Ray Montford and John Moore. After returning to the UK, he shifts towards songs with more pop, rock and blues elements. His later writing also reflects influences such as John Mayer, Iron and Wine, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jackson Browne and Robin Trower.

Career background

In earlier accounts of his career, Kirby is described as being born on Merseyside in 1985, starting guitar at the age of eight and performing publicly by the age of ten in support of the Bucket and Spade Appeal. He later moves to Kent in 2000, plays lead guitar in Abandoned for three years and records two albums with that group. He then fronts Sikhona for four years, becoming a regular presence on the Kent and London scene; the group issues an EP and receives radio play before disbanding in 2009 because of conflicts of interest. He then focuses on a solo career, with songs described as melodic and retaining traces of his earlier musical roots.